Topic: Five favorite war movies

[NoOneLikesUs]

A Bullet For The General

An average spag western at best.

OK. Never seen it. You seem to know your stuff, NOLU, what spaghetti westerns do you recommend?

Everything by Sergio Leone (except My Name Is Nobody). The 1966 Django. The Great Silence. The Big Gundown. The Sabata Trilogy (for comedic purposes).

The Great Silence is the one I want to see off this list I've not seen. Leone's Once Upon A Time In The West and Duck You Sucker are two of the best movies ever made in my opinion.

Ever seen Django Kill!? -- the bizarro ripoff of Django that had a group of S&M'd up gay bad cowboys in it? Truly a bizarre movie, but entertaining in parts.

Yeah, I've seen it. I was obsessed with spag westerns for the better part of a year at one time. Watching the entirety of the Trinity series was my low point.

[Birdscribe]

On top of being a history buff, I'm a war movie aficionado. Which scrambles my eggs to see that "A Bridge Too Far" isn't mentioned five pages in here. An awesome, poignant, well-written and acted movie, based on Cornelious Ryan's book on Operation Market Garden.

My list in order:

1. The Longest Day. Try making a movie with THAT cast and that production cost today and you're looking at something north of $2 BILLION.
2. A Bridge Too Far. See above.
3. Glory. The scene where they come over the bend and see the cannon pointed at them -- devastating.
4. All Quiet on the Western Front. The book is incredible, the movie poignant and heart-breaking.
5. Saving Private Ryan.
HM: Gallipoli; Platoon; The Blue Max (I have a thing for WWI aviation);

A HUGE fan of George C. Scott's performance -- dead-on nails. But not a fan of Patton in-total. Too disjointed and too tidy at the end. The Deer Hunter left me cold. Apocalypse Now had its moments and quotable lines, but not one of my favorites.

Of course, if Band of Brothers is allowed (judges, can we get a ruling here?) that vaults to No. 1 and everything else goes down.

[Boom_70]

More in the vain of Band of Brothers but I would add Generation Kill to the mix.

I will stop and watch "The Longest Day " but found it drags at times. Still not bad.

[Versatile]

1. The Longest Day. Try making a movie with THAT cast and that production cost today and you're looking at something north of $2 BILLION.

Isn't exhumation illegal?

[2underpar]

no love for 12 o'clock high or enemy at the gate?

[albert77]

A couple of others that have been mentioned that I liked were The Blue Max and Stalag 17. And, I'm sorry, but one of my guiltiest pleasures is Braveheart. The Scottish blood in me (of which there is considerable) never fails to get stirred up when Mel delivers the final soliloquy at the end, "they fought like warrior-poets and won their freedom," at the Battle of Bannockburn.

[OTD]

On top of being a history buff, I'm a war movie aficionado. Which scrambles my eggs to see that "A Bridge Too Far" isn't mentioned five pages in here. An awesome, poignant, well-written and acted movie, based on Cornelious Ryan's book on Operation Market Garden.

My list in order:

1. The Longest Day. Try making a movie with THAT cast and that production cost today and you're looking at something north of $2 BILLION.
2. A Bridge Too Far. See above.
3. Glory. The scene where they come over the bend and see the cannon pointed at them -- devastating.
4. All Quiet on the Western Front. The book is incredible, the movie poignant and heart-breaking.
5. Saving Private Ryan.
HM: Gallipoli; Platoon; The Blue Max (I have a thing for WWI aviation);

A HUGE fan of George C. Scott's performance -- dead-on nails. But not a fan of Patton in-total. Too disjointed and too tidy at the end. The Deer Hunter left me cold. Apocalypse Now had its moments and quotable lines, but not one of my favorites.

Of course, if Band of Brothers is allowed (judges, can we get a ruling here?) that vaults to No. 1 and everything else goes down.

You know, I thought of "ABTF" but it gets a little hokey at times and that pushed it out of the top five for me. Definitely in the top 10 though. And props to 2underpar for bringing in "Twelve O'Clock High," one of the best air war movies from WWII.

[pressboxer]

No love for Mister Roberts?


And as to what some of them were really fighting for:

The Americanization of Emily
Operation Petticoat
Father Goose
I was a Male War Bride
Kiss Them For Me

[three_bags_full]

Straight war movies?

Full Metal Jacket
Saving Private Ryan
Platoon
A Bridge Too Far
To Hell and Back

[kickoff-time]

I would place Saving Private Ryan near the top of any war movie list and I defer to my late father on its realism with respect to actual fighting.

He served in World War II throughout the Pacific Theater - Iwo Jima, was one of the first Marines in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He said it more accurately depicted how battles were than any other war movie he had seen in his 80-plus years. A lot of who lived and died was simply luck. He also added that some of his most frightening moments were after the war as an occupation force simply because the Japanese soldiers did not surrender.

[Dick Whitman]

I'm wondering why there are so few Revolutionary War movies. Such an important chapter of our history, and world history, and you could probably count on one hand or less the number of films about it.

[Steak Snabler]

I'm wondering why there are so few Revolutionary War movies. Such an important chapter of our history, and world history, and you could probably count on one hand or less the number of films about it.

I remember there was some discussion in the entertainment media about this when "The Patriot" came out. Supposedly, Pacino's "Revolution" was such a flop that it scared Hollywood away from it for years.

But as far as wars that haven't been mined all that well, you'd think World War I would get a big-time treatment. Before War Horse (which was based on a play), you basically had "All Quiet on the Western Front," "Gallipoli" and "Paths to Glory" and that was it. I'm assuming this is because America's role in WWI wasn't all that big.

[Dick Whitman]

I'm thinking that Tea Partiers and such would flock to a Revolutionary War movie in this culture, similar to how evangelicals flocked to "The Passion of The Christ."

[Pilot]

I'm wondering why there are so few Revolutionary War movies. Such an important chapter of our history, and world history, and you could probably count on one hand or less the number of films about it.

Not one of my favorites, but I thought it was pretty sweet when I was a kid:

[NoOneLikesUs]

I'm wondering why there are so few Revolutionary War movies. Such an important chapter of our history, and world history, and you could probably count on one hand or less the number of films about it.

I remember there was some discussion in the entertainment media about this when "The Patriot" came out. Supposedly, Pacino's "Revolution" was such a flop that it scared Hollywood away from it for years.

But as far as wars that haven't been mined all that well, you'd think World War I would get a big-time treatment. Before War Horse (which was based on a play), you basically had "All Quiet on the Western Front," "Gallipoli" and "Paths to Glory" and that was it. I'm assuming this is because America's role in WWI wasn't all that big.

There has been a lot of WWI films made. The 20s and 30s had a bunch of them. Many are referenced earlier in the thread.

[Pilot]

Is this an appropriate time to point out again that War Horse, while beautifully shot, had a really, really stupid plot? Or is there a better time to point that out again?

[Steak Snabler]

I'm wondering why there are so few Revolutionary War movies. Such an important chapter of our history, and world history, and you could probably count on one hand or less the number of films about it.

Not one of my favorites, but I thought it was pretty sweet when I was a kid:

They shoulda called him Johnny Deformed. [/thesimpsons]

I'm wondering why there are so few Revolutionary War movies. Such an important chapter of our history, and world history, and you could probably count on one hand or less the number of films about it.

I remember there was some discussion in the entertainment media about this when "The Patriot" came out. Supposedly, Pacino's "Revolution" was such a flop that it scared Hollywood away from it for years.

But as far as wars that haven't been mined all that well, you'd think World War I would get a big-time treatment. Before War Horse (which was based on a play), you basically had "All Quiet on the Western Front," "Gallipoli" and "Paths to Glory" and that was it. I'm assuming this is because America's role in WWI wasn't all that big.

There has been a lot of WWI films made. The 20s and 30s had a bunch of them. Many are referenced earlier in the thread.

Yeah, I meant in modern times. I'm sure there were a lot back when the war was still fresh on everyone's mind, but it probably didn't generate half the Hollywood ouvre of WWII or even Vietnam.

[NoOneLikesUs]

A Very Long Engagement was a decent WWI flick from the last decade. Joyeux Noël was pretty good too. Flyboys (never saw it) came out in 2006 and dealt with American pilots in the conflict.

[Birdscribe]

A Very Long Engagement was a decent WWI flick from the last decade. Joyeux Noël was pretty good too. Flyboys (never saw it) came out in 2006 and dealt with American pilots in the conflict.

Flyboys was dreadful, a movie that would have to improve 100% just to stink. One cliche after another.

The aforementioned Blue Max is the definitive WWI aviation flick. George Peppard, Ursula UnAndress, James Mason are your headliners, with Peppard as a lower-class German scrapping and clawing his way into respectability in the aristocratic and nascent German air corps. Not a great movie in the manner of many we've mentioned and rather on the long side, but decent nonetheless.

[doubledown68]

Saving Private Ryan; Band of Brothers; Plattoon; Full Metal Jacket... and even though it's cliche on a lot of levels, Crimson Tide.

As for war comidies, put me down for Hot  Shots! (the orig and Part Deux), as well as Down Periscope

[Bubbler]

More movies I thought were cool when I was 14 ... HBO used to show a movie about the Italian-Libyan conflict between the wars. I think it was called Lion Of The Desert. Anthony Quinn was in it. Loved it back then. Haven't seen it since.

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

A Very Long Engagement was a decent WWI flick from the last decade. Joyeux Noël was pretty good too. Flyboys (never saw it) came out in 2006 and dealt with American pilots in the conflict.

Flyboys was dreadful, a movie that would have to improve 100% just to stink. One cliche after another.

The aforementioned Blue Max is the definitive WWI aviation flick. George Peppard, Ursula UnAndress, James Mason are your headliners, with Peppard as a lower-class German scrapping and clawing his way into respectability in the aristocratic and nascent German air corps. Not a great movie in the manner of many we've mentioned and rather on the long side, but decent nonetheless.

Is that the one where Peppard dies at the end in a plane crash? On a test flight or something?

[Azrael]

Yes.

Interesting to me how poorly 'Platoon' has aged. As is the case with almost all of Stone's work.

Anyone remember 'The Boys in Company C'?

[Football_Bat]

Memphis Belle.

[lantaur]

Anyone remember 'The Boys in Company C'?

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